Which Big Ten teams have the best shot at the conference championship in 2024?

We are past the midway point in the 2024 regular season, and the playoff race is starting to take shape in front of us. More than that, though, we are starting to get a good idea who who has a chance to make it to Indianapolis for the Big Ten Championship Game at the start of December.

With five weeks left to go in the regular season, there are three teams in the conference with an undefeated record: No. 1 Oregon Ducks, No. 4 Penn State Nittany Lions, and No. 13 Indiana Hoosiers.

Those three teams, along with a handful of others, all have a good chance to make it to Indy and compete for an automatic spot in the College Football Playoff. Let’s look to the ESPN Football Power Index to see how the odds break down for each team in the conference to take home the league title this year.

The Favorites

Ohio State Buckeyes: 33.6%
Oregon Ducks: 31.6%

It would be fitting for the Ducks and Buckeyes to meet for a rematch in Indianapolis, wouldn’t it? After the thrilling 32-31 Oregon victory in Eugene earlier this year, it feels like these are the two best teams in the conference, and a Part 2 would be one of the most anticipated games of the year.

With Oregon undefeated, they could suffer one loss and likely still make it to the conference title game, assuming both Indiana and Penn State don’t go lossless from here on out. Ohio State, though, likely needs to win out in order to get to Indy, which isn’t a guarantee with both Penn State, Indiana, and Michigan remaining on the schedule.

The Party Crashers

Penn State Nittany Lions: 17.2%
Indiana Hoosiers: 16.2%

Both No. 3 Penn State and Indiana are undefeated this year, and they seemingly have as good of a shot as anyone to make it to the conference title game at the year’s end. However, ESPN’s FPI doesn’t appear to be too confident that they can win every remaining game on…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/big-ten-teams-best-shot-115752231.html

Author : Ducks Wire

Publish date : 2024-10-22 11:57:52

Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.